


Garden of Red

by lovserm



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Armin Arlert & Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss Are Twins, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Blood and Injury, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Nonbinary Hange Zoë, Possible Character Death, Possibly OOC, The Author Regrets Everything, Violence, apocolypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28570674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovserm/pseuds/lovserm
Summary: Humanity has fallen, taken over by crude creatures with distorted, human-like features. They're vicious monsters that have the ability to turn others with a single bite.Few real people exist, they all practically went extinct. A small group of close friends plans to turn the tide on this ocean of grief and despair. They are Hope's Newfound Seekers.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Levi/Erwin Smith, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein, Mikasa Ackerman/Annie Leonhart, Oluo Bozado/Petra Ral, Reiner Braun/Bertolt Hoover, Sasha Blouse/Connie Springer
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	1. An Introduction To The Anguish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 - An Introduction To The Anguish

The year was 2021. It was sudden. No one had seen it coming. The human race had crashed into a dead end. The world, once full of beautiful nature and gorgeous scenery, had turned into a dystopia. It was a disaster to put it lightly. It wasn't a slow process. The virus had spread like a wildfire, changing people into aliens who craved blood.

There were very few survivors of this disease and they were scattered around the destroyed Earth. They needed to stay in groups if they could, and if they couldn't find a crew of their own kind, they were dead. The millions of zombies they had to fight off alone would overpower them (despite them not being exactly strong or capable of any intelligence).

Somehow, every single remaining person needed to come together to form an army. To build up mankind by themselves. They all knew it would be hard, but if they didn't do it, the world would be ruled by brainless... Whatever they were. How would they even be able to connect with each other? How would they know if they could trust each other? It was seemingly hopeless.

The biggest group of survivors were not willing to give up. They were well aware of how terrible and unforgiving the world could be. They were willing to do anything to push this despair into hopes grasp.

Erwin Smith, age 37, a tall, well-built man with the courage of a lion and the voice of one too. He was realistic and he was the commander of the party. He was voted the best at giving orders and leading, and he was dedicated to the role. Erwin tried his best to not let emotion outweigh logic even if it was incredibly hard at times. Sometimes he can't stand what he has to do as the leader, he breaks mentally every time he has to sacrifice something, big or small, for the so-called 'greater good'. He knows he has to and he perseveres through it. He's calm and collected. Well, that's what his facade looks to be.

Next up, Levi Ackerman, age 34. He's a black-haired man who was given the status of the captain. Levi is strict and extremely intimidating for his size, he only stands at 5'2. While it is ridiculous that someone of height is terrifying to the other members of their group, it's justified. One night, squad comrade Eren Yaeger accidentally spilt his water on the floor of their base. To this, Levi forced him the very next day to wake up at the crack of dawn and clean the whole place. Eren never spilt anything ever again. So, as you can see, Levi was not one to be messed with. As the captain, he needed to keep everyone in line. Cleaning is a hobby for him, and being very cold and unapproachable seems to be one too.

Levi and Erwins best friend, Hange Zoë, was a special person indeed. They were interested in horror and they thoroughly believed they were in a horror movie and, to be frank, they basically were. In their 33 years of life, they claimed to have watched over a thousand horror movies. They were a master at lightening the mood when something bad happened and they were amusing in general. They were labelled the doctor of the pack and were in charge of helping people with their wounds. Often, they complained that they wanted to go out and witness the guts and death up-close and personal. That was something that the group saw as weird, but they couldn't control it. They were deadly interested in seeing the insides gush out of the nightmarish things. Erwin and Levi needed to keep them safe, they were the best at things to do with medicine and nurturing people, after all. For this reason, they didn't often take them out to go hunting zombies. Everyone needed Hange, and they couldn't risk losing them.

Feisty Eren Jeager. He was definitely something. Stubborn as can be, he was a strong fighter and was quite emotional. His goal was to single-handedly take out all the beasts that were taking over the world because of all the innocent lives they'd corrupted. His crew supported him on the dream. Well, they said they did. They all knew he wouldn't be able to do it alone, considering he was 16 and he was unable to win a fight with Annie Leonhart, one of his other comrades. If he couldn't beat Annie, how could he beat millions of weird, non-human, human-eating humans? Perhaps together they could, but definitely not alone. Rebellious and feisty, Captain Levi had him very far down on the list of his favourite cadets. Yeager often had a plan but gave up on it and went freestyle. Following rules had never really been what he enjoyed doing.

Mikasa Ackerman, Eren's adopted sister and Captain Levi's distant relative. She and Eren were the same age, so they got along well when they first met. As a result of her early childhood trauma, she was forced to mature and become serious and stern. She was a beast when it came to slaying those monstrosities. Overprotective of Eren and Armin, she does everything in her power to keep them as far from harm as possible. Well, it isn't just Eren and Armin she looks after with her life, it's her entire titan-slaying group. Her strong point was with a blade, she could pull off any move. She was one of the best in the squad at killing large groups of creatures. She had mastered the art of taking lives from things who didn't deserve them in the first place. She never felt any remorse, making her perfect to have on the team.

Annie Leonhart, a stern young lady of 16 years old who grew up alongside Bertolt and Reiner. She didn't show much emotion, she barely even smiled. She was often training, or on one-woman missions where she would just go out and murder everything in sight. She didn't even talk much, but when she did it was, most of the time, only a few strict words. Or a lecture. Annie was amazing at fighting, she was better than Mikasa at using her fists! The two were a stone-cold, murderous pair. Sometimes she'd take Mikasa with her on her small missions.

Armin Arlert was the brains of the group alongside his twin sister. At the ripe age of 15, he was said to have an IQ of 180. He was a major part in the planning of attacks, plotting out where it would take place in a matter of seconds with his quick calculations. He struggled with anxiety and thought lowly of himself, his best friends tried their best to help him with his dark thoughts though. He trained a lot to up his physical strength because, as much as his brain was incredibly powerful, he was quite weak compared to his friends. Growing more independent was something he was working on.

Krista Arlert, also known as Krista Lenz, the other half of the Arlert twins. She was a kind soul, but oh boy get on the wrong side of her and she will verbally end you. It's incredibly hard to get her into such a state, though. She and her brother were the spitting images of each other. They were extremely close, they told each other everything. Mess with one of them, you mess with the two of them. She tried her best to fight, but she often couldn't do it. It was hard. It was so, very hard for her. She never wanted this, none of them did. She challenged herself every day with trying to toughen up.

Ymir was a rather new member of the gang. Her last name is unknown, she forgot it after being attacked by a zombie who was too strong to be any old regular one. She also didn't remember her exact age, but she knew she was 15-17. She had a pretty crude way of talking, lacking any sort of filter. She said what was on her mind and if she offended you, she'd shrug it off and most likely wouldn't apologise unless you nagged on, and on, and on. She was bold and she was well aware of that fact. Ymir took a very strange liking to Krista and constantly flirted with her and teased her. Armin wasn't exactly fond of it, but if Krista didn't mind, he didn't either!

Bertolt Hoover was a great person to have in the squad. He was the tallest out of everyone (he was taller than even Commander Erwin, and he was only 17!), and very tough even if he didn't exactly look ripped. Bertl was a gentle giant, sometimes he couldn't handle the situation in any way and he'd just give up for a few days, refusing to come out of his room. He was similar to Armin in some ways, both being anxious and both having a love for books. He and his best friend Reiner were sort of polar opposites but they stuck together, they depended on each other for comfort. Well, now they didn't have a choice. They had to be together. Because, where else would they be able to go?

17-year-old Reiner Braun, Bertolt's best friend. He was only slightly shorter than Bertolt, but he was musclier (although he wasn't that much stronger) and a lot more social. He was loud. And I mean very loud. He couldn't control it, Reiner had a naturally booming voice which contrasted with Bertolt's naturally quiet nature. Braun helped Arlert with his training quite a lot, Armin right-off -the-bat inspired by him and his strength, practically astonished by his height and broad frame. He, like Ymir, lacked a filter. Most of the time he doesn't think before he speaks, which often results in awkward silence and uncomfortable glances. He adored helping his fellow team-mates and wonders what it would be like if everyone trapped in this mess could meet up and slay all the disgusting abnormalities that are spread across the world.

Jean Kirstein was like Erens clone in many ways: He's stubborn and often argues with people because of how opinionated he can be. Speaking of Eren, they absolutely despised each other, most likely because of how they're so similar that their personalities clash. The nickname 'Horseface' which Eren gave him, only made him hate the younger brunette more. Jean, being a year older than Eren, was taller more mature than Eren when it came to certain topics. He was hard to calm down when he was really frustrated, once again similar to Eren, who was a rage-bomb. Jean loved the thrill that came with going out and shooting the demented souls till they die for a second time, although sometimes, he felt guilty knowing that they were humans who had no say in what they became.

Marco Bott was a freckled, optimistic 17-year-old. He liked to believe that one day, his whole series of unfortunate events would be over. He wanted everything to go back to normal more than everyone else. He and Jean are best friends, their personalities saturated the others and they started picking up on things the other did. He wasn't the bravest, he was far from it actually, but that didn't mean he wasn't trying his best to come to terms with the fact that if he wanted to live, he needed to fight. He needed to work alongside his friends to slay all the demons that were trying to rule the world they lived on.

Sasha Braus was a girl who... Let's say she doesn't seem fit to be in this situation. She is 15, loves eating, she's kind of lazy.. Yet she's just as eager as the rest of them to take back what was once there's. She was willing to put in all the effort needed, which was a shock to them all, especially her boyfriend, Connie Springer. He had never expected such determination to come from her! She's a social butterfly, a very loud one at that. She trains after meals only, that's just the schedule she adjusted to. She tries her best to put in the effort, sometimes she cants make herself do it. The situation is just too despondent.

And finally, Connie Springer, the goofy 16-year-old boyfriend of Sasha. He's outgoing, just like Braus. They're a match-made-in-heaven, in all honesty! He loves being in the presence of his wonderful friends, so it makes him miserable after any little bad thing happens to one of them. Well, he's always miserable after his stunning state of denial that he automatically falls into. Connie is always willing to help in any way, even if that means bringing pain to himself. He enjoys having fun and messing around with friends, but in a situation like this, that fun has to come to an end as soon as it starts.

It's up to this small group of people to take back humanity. It's a big task for so little people.

Can they do it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1! An introduction to the world and the characters you will be travelling with for this journey.
> 
> THIS WAS NOT CHECKED, PLEASE TELL ME IF I MADE ANY MISTAKES!
> 
> Short summary: The world is a dystopia, and only a few people are left. They need to restore humanity while they survive the outbreak, but how?
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I haven't checked to see if anyone has done anything similar, I'm not trying to copy anyone. I just suddenly had this idea so now I'm writing this! I appreciate any kudos and comments (hate will be deleted). I will hopefully write the next chapter later this week! I'm actually excited to write this fic, and I hope you're excited about the updates soon to come!


	2. The Outside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 - The Outside

All the days blended for Eren Jaeger. Nothing new ever happened. Wake up, eat the few things he had, train for the disasters to come, and get a few mere hours of rest. That vicious cycle never changed, so as he scratched his tired eyes and hopped out of his rugged bed he never expected there to be bloodied Jean lay limp on the floor. It wasn't often that he'd get out of his bed and have a beat-up version of his 'friend' (he hated the guy, but what else could he call him? After all he had saved his life multiple times, the least he could do is consider him to be a friend) draped across the wooden floor. Eren stood there for a few seconds, softly kicking at his shoulder to try and gain his attention. 'Well shit, he's out' the brunette thought as he slowly started walking out of his room.

The room system was... Weird. They often swapped with each other for one reason or another. At the moment, Eren, Mikasa, Annie and Connie were sharing one, Marco, Reiner, Jean and Sasha in another, Ymir and Krista paired with poor Armin who claims that it's incredibly awkward sharing a room with the two. The remaining four were then forced to share a room, Sasha every so often leaves in the middle of the night to hang out with Connie.

Strolling tiredly into the main room, he saw that Levi, Annie, Mikasa, Bertolt, Krista and Ymir were already there. He greeted them with a half-hearted wave and sat down on their torn-up couch. Eren blurred out Ymir's loud talking as he drank a small bottled water he had picked up from the table. ''Hey, does anyone know why Jean's dead on the floor in my room?'' Eren asked no one in particular. He turned around in his place and lay his head on the back of the couch. He saw Mikasa look at Annie through the corner of his eye. ''Maybe you should ask Annie'' Mikasa stated bluntly. Annie only sighed, ''Jean said he could beat me, so I proved him wrong.'' Eren smiled and chuckled a bit at the thought. ''It's what he deserved'' Eren remarked, Levi shot him a glare that said 'Watch it' and immediately, Eren shut his mouth. Levi was not one to be messed with, he learned that the hard way.

Silence plagued the room. ''Do we have anything to do today?'' Krista asked, breaking it. Lately, she's been wanting to grow stronger, more independent. Ymir had been helpful, supporting her the whole way through it. But in a way, Ymir made it harder for the girl because of how.. Possessive she is of her. She doesn't let her go out of the house on her own, she doesn't let her do anything on her own really. But that was none of Erens business, that was between the two of them. Responding to the question, Levi sighed and muttered something about 'A big swarm of them had come closer' and everyone else in the room groaned.

Then, Armin walked in and Eren swore he saw the room light up. The blonde was smiling, that beautiful god-sent smile that sent Eren into a giddy haze. It was no secret that Eren had a crush on the shorter boy. Everyone had figured it out. Well, everyone except Armin. No matter how many hints Eren dropped, whether it be the gentle shoulder touches or the hugs that lingered on a tad bit too long, or maybe even when Eren had literally said those special three words, Armin never understood. He wrote everything off as completely platonic and friendly-friend-stuff. It was frustrating but Eren could never stay mad at him. He was more just mad at himself for not confessing yet. Armin walked with a spring in his step over to the couch and sat next to Eren, the smile never once wavering. The silence was comfortable in the room, albeit a bit tense. Everyone had their own thoughts and things on their mind. No one spoke. It was.. Sort of nice to Eren, to just have company but nothing to say. But of course:

''Hey, hey, heey, guys! Good morning!'' The infamous Hange Zoe just had to ruin it. Levi let out a huff. ''It's noon.''

They skipped over to Levi, starting to ramble on to him about everything and nothing all at the same time. They were truly one of a kind. He blurred out all the words and looked around. He was tired. Nothing ever changed. Everything stayed the same except a few, simple things. Simple things allowed him to escape from the terrors of reality. These few simple things, like Hange rambling, or Armin finding a new book, or Sasha finding a new abandoned store to raid.. Little things like this made his day, his week, his month. Sometimes it wasn't so bad for him.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the group slowly piled into the room, Reiner and Bertolt with their arms linked and Marco with his head stuck in a book. Annie smirked the smallest bit when she saw Marco, knowing he'd flip when he saw his best friend/love interest spread out on the floor with a dried-bloody nose and black eye.

\- - -

''You _what!?_ '' Marco yelled, patting Jean's face with a wet piece of tissue. Jean winced slightly, glaring at Annie in the corner of his eyes. ''Marco, I'm fine! It's just a scratch...'' 

Marco sighed and shook his head disapprovingly. ''I mean, he got what he deserved in a way.'' Eren joked, Levi responding with a fierce ''Don't start, Jaeger.'' and Eren nodding.

Annie sighed. She's never really liked being a room with this much people, even if it's not a lot to most. Erwin sent Annie a few disapproving stares, clearly not impressed with the fight. Mikasa discreetly held Annie's hand, not really giving one about the situation with Jean. She wasn't exactly fond of him, to put it lightly, and Jean _did_ in fact ask to fight her. Well, in a way he did. 

''Jean, please stop getting into fights with our _friends_! There's no reason for it, y'know?'' Marco tried to get his point across. It wasn't often that he spoke like this with Jean, but when he did Jean couldn't possibly go against what he said. Jean mumbled a quick 'fine' and crossed his arms. ''It's not like I _meaaan_ to get in fights...''. Ymir cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted ''Gaaayyy!!'' and Jean just flipped her off.

''Annie, was it necessary to beat Jean up this much?'' Erwin tried to ask, but dryly Annie replied, ''Yes.'' Erwin tutted quietly and returned to writing on a sheet of paper, probably a plan or something like that. Levi was sat next to him, the two whispering to each other and acting like an old married couple.

When Marco had finished patching up Jean, everyone went back to casual conversations. Or at least, as casual as they can be when references to literal human-eating monsters being outside are thrown into it. Jean went back to his old self, teasing Eren about his crush on Armin, and when he decided it was getting boring and started ranting to Marco about whatever. Connie had shown up in the middle of it, claiming he was sleeping and when he woke up, he fell back asleep. Armin was discussing a book he had found with Bertolt and they were having a very enthusiastic discussion about the plot. Reiner, Krista and Ymir were chatting about some kill Ymir had scored the other day and she was seemingly _very_ proud of it. Sasha was stuffing herself with some old potato chips she had found in her room and Hange was boasting to her about that one time they peeled a mans fingernails off. Sasha didn't look very comfortable but it's impossible to get Hange to stop when they start.

Everything was normal, this was what happened every day. Every, single, day. Eren was tired of it. Nothing new. While he was tired of it, he decided it was better than getting mauled by disturbing, fleshy creatures. He had known a few of these people his whole life, and a few only a matter of months. They were all his friends (with the exception of Levi and Horseface) and he was happy to be with them.

\- - -

The squad stood outside the building they were hiding in, coming out to fight. This was it. It was once again time to fight. Everyone was wearing makeshift uniforms, holding guns and knives they could manage to find nearby. They weren't the best but they held up.

Every time they came out, they stayed together for a while. After they were filled with adrenaline and were okay splitting up, they halved the group, going in opposites directions. This time, though, there was an army of enemies all coming in from one way. They were slow, so they had some time to warm up and get the odd kill. One time they had gone out, Hange had found a truck and they stole it as any other sane person would. Running them over would, in theory, be a good idea! But the impact would affect the people driving, so they decided it would be best if that was just their back-up plan if anything too drastic were to happen.

They made sure their guns were loaded, scouting the area. It was dangerous to be alone out there, but with a group of fifteen people, they were safe. Completely. They all had weapons, they were looking out for each other, they were okay. They knew they were okay, but then:

''They're coming up ahead, everyone!'' Erwin yelled and everyone turned to where he was facing. 

There were hundreds of them. Everywhere. It was something out of ' _The Walking Dead_ '. Melting faces, limbless bodies, pale white eyes, rotting skin, hole-filled faces... It was not a pretty sight. Not in the _slightest_.

\- - -

Just a quick few minutes later, it was a catastrophe. Blood and guts were scattered across the floor and the team shot bullets into the lifeless bodies that were slowly inching forward. It was quite early on in the battle so they collectively decided to stay back. Eren... Had a different approach. While he did say that he was going to keep back with the rest of them, he was overcome with rage about what they had done to him, to his friends, to his family... He dashed forward and over to them, decided to fight the ones at the front. He shouted as he stabbed the insides out of them. His friends stopped shooting, paralyzed by how reckless that was, and how blatantly stupid it was.

''Oi, dumbass, what the fuck are you doing!?'' Jean yelled, looking astonished by how dumb Eren was for deciding to do that. No one went after him, just staring. Armin looked petrified, knees shaking. Everyone was still. Even Erwin.

Then _finally_ Mikasa ran after him.

Eren was being grabbed from everywhere, getting taken into the crowd but he was relentless, swerving his knife everywhere he could, voice cracking. Despite his situation, his fury did not once waver. Mikasa came over, tactfully striking the zombies in the back of the neck. The raven-haired girl pulled him out, cursing as her legs buckled and she stumbled backwards.

Everyone else watched in shock, it was terrifying. They watched as two of their comrades, their _friends_ got ambushed and dragged into the hundreds of monsters. They watched helplessly as their friends... _Died?_

They all ran over, desperately shooting and slicing, trying to dig their way to Eren and Mikasa. Nothing was helping, every kill was meaningless because they were gone. Nowhere to be found. Giving up was out of the question though. The only things that could be heard were shouting, groaning, the sound of gooey blood shooting out of the cuts and stabs on the zombies' bodies, and ringing gunshots. They weren't even making a dent in the number of the ghouls, there were so many of them...

They were overpowered. Completely overpowered. They were done for.

\- - - 

The following fifteen minutes felt like fifteen years. Despite being emotionally and physically exhausted, they had managed to take out a good amount without the missing pair, coming up with the plan to form a wall and shoot at the same time. Hange had got in their car and drove over a couple without damaging themself too much. Annie, Reiner and Bertolt found a few hammers laying around that they had forgotten about and went on a rampage, smashing heads in until brains oozed out of their eye sockets. Armin, Sasha and Connie usually kept their distance, shooting them with as much accuracy as possible. Jean and Marco weren't afraid to get up-close and personal with them (of course, they didn't go nearly as close as Eren) and used their rapid-fire guns perfectly. Erwin and Levi masterfully took them out from the back, being both slick and stealthy. Krista and Ymir were moving around quite a lot, leading off few at a time and having the other come up behind the things and shoot them till they were nothing but a pile on the floor. 

None of them knew where Eren and Mikasa had gone until they faintly heard Eren shout and saw two figures, one a boy and one a girl, running frantically towards them, both limping slightly.

Hange screamed, not any words in particular, they just screamed and ran up to them. They had previously been in charge of watching out for them and finally they had found them! Hange bombarded the duo with questions, kneeling down and looking at Mikasa's injured leg. The others did their best to protect the three and Hange tried to guide the younger home, giving no one any time to see them or greet them. Armin looked to be on the verge of tears when he saw Eren stumbling into the old structure.

\- - -

When the troupe (aside from Hange, Mikasa and Eren) crossed the threshold of the base, they crowded around Mikasa and Eren, asking question after question. Hange did their best to fend them off and when that didn't work, Erwin and Levi shouted at them all to stop the noisy, overbearing behaviour and commanded the group put away their weaponry. They did as they were told, not wanting to argue. They bid each other goodnight and whispered among themselves. Mikasa got up and left first, clearly debilitated. She asked if Eren was leaving too, and he softly shook his head. After a few laughs, hugs, and pats on the back, everyone eventually retired to their room, needed a good sleep after that chaos. They didn't fuss about who went where for once, which was a relief for Eren. Everyone was in bed, dozing off. Everyone except two.

Armin and Eren.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2!
> 
> THIS WAS NOT CHECKED, PLEASE TELL ME IF I MADE ANY MISTAKES!
> 
> Short summary: We properly meet (some of) the characters and we see the terrors of the outside, Eren and Mikasa almost die, and now Eren and Armin have some alone time.
> 
> I really wanted to update but I'm running low on motivation so I'm sorry if this seems lazy or anything like that! If you have any, I encourage you to comment some things you want to see in the future! I appreciate any kudos and comments (hate will be deleted). I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	3. Confessions and Conspiracies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 - Confessions and Conspiracies

The pair stood in silence, looking at each other with lost expressions, waiting for the other to say something. Neither of them did though. The silence was an uncomfortable yet comfortable silence. Eren and Armin were far from in a good state of mind. Every mission scarred them, the sight of melting acidic flesh packed onto moulding bones never got easier for any of them to see. They had grown numb to the original terrified rush of emotion, but the aftermath of the job they had to do never faded. It was full of grief, anxiety, terror. I mean, the monsters they had to kill were all _people_. Some that they knew, some that they went to school with, some they had bumped into once or twice. Even if they didn't know them, they were still people. Or, they used to be people...

Deciding to finally move, Armin slowly sat down and got his old water bottle from out of the draw in the wooden table. Eren watched his every move carefully. He himself was incredibly drained, he wanted to sleep. But he wanted to keep Armin company more.

It was quite common for Armin to stay up at night. He often read or wrote his worries away, preferring to lose himself in a book than lose himself in the terrors of their dystopian reality. He had a lot of stresses -hell, they all did - and with all of said stresses, it was impossible for him to even get in bed.

Huffing, Eren seated himself next to his blonde friend. The silence grew thicker now they were next to each other, accompanied by the sound of Armin swallowing his water. The brunette leant back in the couch, staring at the ceiling and listening to the sounds of snores and hushed whispers coming from the bedrooms. He could hear each individual specifically (Eren always ponders to himself how he had managed to memorise everyone's snoring when he can't even remember the 9 times table, but he assumes it's just because he'd been trapped in this building with the for god-know's-how-long).

Armin looked at him and Eren pried his eyes over to meet the others. They stared at each other, taking in each other's face like its the last time they'll ever be able to see them. Armin had a light blush covering his cheeks and Eren took a mental photo of the sight, it was like Armin was a hand-crafted angel made by God to him.

''Eren... I'm so glad you're okay... I wouldn't be able to go on without you.'' Armin murmured, words laced with a tone of sadness. Eren replied with a soft smile, moving forward and sideways to be closer to Armin. The heat in the room was growing and Armin's face was growing hotter too as a result of the proximity between them becoming tenser. ''Feeling's mutual, Armin.''

Armin chuckled and lowered his head, taking another swig of his drink. ''Can I have some? My mouth feels like sandpaper.'' Eren asked and Armin contemplated it for a moment, before handing Eren his bottle. ''You're welcome.'' Armin remarks as Eren chugs it. Wiping his mouth, Eren laughs and apologises twice. Armin laughs along with him, breathy. ''I never said you could drink that much, _Eren_..!''

''You never said I _couldn't_ drink that much though, _Armin_..!'' Eren shot back, dramatically mocking the way he said his name. Armin hit his shoulder jokingly and turned his head away from him.

The quietness in the room returned, the duo basking in the feeling of just being together. The feeling of wanting to confess to Armin gnawed at Erens heart. He could, but at what cost? His friendship, his dignity, his faith in humanity (who was he kidding, he lost that a long time ago)... But that was only one perspective he was looking for. What if Armin said yes? Then what? They couldn't go on real dates, they couldn't have any alone time...

''Armin, what do you think about, like, dating?'' He asks out of the blue, startling the shorter a bit.

''Uhm, its... Nice, I guess. Why do you ask?'' Armin replies, confused. _Fuck_ , Eren didn't think about what he would say at this bit. ''No reason, just wondering.'' Eren says, looking around and trying to seem very interesting in the door that lead to the room where he should be sleeping. ''Are you asking what I think about the relationships some of our friends have? Uhm... Bertholdt and Reiner are cute together, they should've started dating sooner though. I know that Bertholdt is ecstatic to finally be-'' Armin started rambling on, so Eren stopped him with a delicate ''Armin... _No_.'' 

Armin closed his mouth and looked more confused than before. ''Eren, that's a strange question to ask randomly. Are you sure there's no reason why? Wait... Are you jealous because Jean is dating someone-''

''No way!!! Don't you _dare_ bring up that horse-face right now!!'' Eren all but yelled and Armin shot his hand over his mouth. ''Eren, stop being so loud, people are sleeping...!''

Eren clicked his tongue and eye-rolled, ''Armin, I'm being honest. There was no reason why I asked, just curious.'' Armin seemed to buy it, nodding sipping the last bits of his water.

 _'Great job, Eren! You annoyed Armin once again!'_ Eren thought to himself sarcastically as he picked at his fingernails. He did this often, especially when in an awkward or intense situation.

''Armin... It's late. You haven't slept properly in a bit, maybe you should-'' 

''No. I can't sleep, who knows what would happen, I need to be here and make sure nothing happens. It's the least I can do since I don't help on missions-''

''Armin, stop. No one is expecting you to sit here for hours. Nothing can get in, there are fences surrounding this place. And if something were to happen, we would leave it to Erwin and Levi and maybe Hange to figure it out.''

Armin seemed to be thinking so Eren pulled his small hands into his own. ''Nothing is going to happen. Just get some rest.''

Shooting his head up, Armin's face contorted into an expression of shock and he jumped a bit. It was obvious that he had been awake for longer than he should have. ''Eren...''

Armin couldn't force any words out, his brain was fried from both stress and lack of sleep. He peered up at Eren, the blush playing on his face a bright red. He never usually reacted this badly to Eren touching him, so why now? Armin felt as if he was in a romance novel, the moonlight was perfectly shining in the room, the snores had quieted down, he and Eren were _so_ very close... Fundamentally, the mood and setting were perfect for them to just... Kiss. Armin had liked him for years and he knew that if they did kiss, nothing would change. Eren wasn't the type of person to just end a friendship because of a little thing such as a stupid kiss. Eren was a passionate person, if he liked something he would immediately become an enthusiast about it and that applies to friendships too. He had nothing to be afraid of. But yet... The doubts poured in. What if Eren _did_ hate him? What would happen then? In all honestly, Armin would rather get mauled to death by the demons outside than have Eren hate him. The awkwardness and the internalized feelings of his love for Eren would drive him to the edge. Okay. maybe that would be a bit of a stretch, but there is no way he would be able to force himself to face Eren every single day after something as tragic as that.

So as Armin contemplated these feelings, Eren watched and waited for him to shoot a comeback, or start lecturing him about how he needs to stay there so he can make sure they're all safe. But no.

Armin sucked in a shaky breath before grabbing Eren's face and pulling him down for a kiss. Eren had barely any time to register what was going on, he was stunned. One moment he was gazing down at Armin, and then he was kissing him. It happened in a flash.

\- - -

  
The night was filled with tender kisses, loving hugs and kind, comforting words. It was heaven. Eren lay in his bed, remembering every touch that Armin gave to him as he gazed at the ceiling. According to the clock hung limply on the wall, it was only 6 AM, meaning he would have another two hours until everyone started waking up and starting their boring daily routine. He and Armin had retreated to their rooms at around 3 in the morning and Eren had been in and out of sleep. His few light dreams he had were about him and Armin settling into a nice home, and when it was starting to feel real his mind would shake him awake.

Eren sat up in his bed and looked around, noticing that Annie and Mikasa were cuddling in Annie's bed. His lips curled up into a smile. He was so happy for his sister, she really was made for Annie. They claimed to only be 'best friends' but Eren knew there was something else going on. They liked each other and for some reason, no one was teasing them about it like they were teasing him and Armin about their crushes. He was kind of jealous about that, in all honesty. But nonetheless, he was happy for the two. They looked so peaceful as they cuddled, arms curled around each other with content smiles and faint blushes covering their face.

He noticed that Sasha wasn't crammed into Connie's bed with him, which wasn't usual since the girl loved to sneak in and play pranks on him, but he guessed it was because of the mission and how much it took a toll on everyone.

Eren could faintly hear the sound of talking coming from the room where Krista and Ymir were staying. The couple woke up incredibly early compared to everyone else, for some strange reason. Well, maybe except for Erwin and Levi.

Head growing fuzzy, Eren fell back asleep for the fourth time that night.

\- - - 

When he awoke, Sasha and Connie were discussing loudly if the Earth was flat and Eren sighed and flopped his hand onto his head. His head ached because of the amount of sleep he got (which was not a lot) and then thoughts of Armin gathered in his mind, an instant mood-booster. A loud conversation could be heard from the main room and he tuned it out. He could hear Reiner and Ymir boasting about random things and Krista and Bertholdt discussing a book they were reading together. He sat up and stretched, his joints cracking loudly making him sigh. He couldn't wipe the stupid love-struck smile off of his face. Less than six hours ago, he and Armin were intertwined with one another, feeling safe and sound. It was, without a doubt, one of the best moments of his life.

Dragging himself out of his messy bed, he ruffled his hair and pulled on his trainers so he wasn't trodding around on the uncomfortable wood floor. ''Morning, Eren!'' Connie chirped, a lot happier than he was yesterday. Sasha waved and chomped down on a piece of bread she was eating. Eren nodded at them, then proceeded strolled casually into the room, biting his lip to stop himself from looking like an absolute idiot. Unfortunately for him, Jean was sat on the couch (specifically where Armin was sat last night). His face contorted into one of displeasure as he glared at him. To say the least, they hated each other and often liked to remind each other of that. Jean caught on to his rude staring and shot back a simple eye-roll. Eren tutted and sat on the couch opposite him.

''Okay, Reiner, listen, you need to stop being so eager, yeah? Tone it down a notch, that'll get 'im!'' Ymir muttered to the tall blond and Eren immediately turned his head the other way, not wanting to hear Ymir's weird advice. The girl was... Interesting when it came to relationship pointers. He knows because one time he asked her about how to ask someone out, she started telling him about how to... Get someone to do _other things_ with him. He still shudders at the very memory.

Armin wasn't in the room, which he expected since the blue-eyed boy was extremely in need of hours of sleep. The only people in the room were himself, Jean, Reiner, Ymir, Bertholdt and Krista. Jean was sitting doing nothing, also not wanting to get involved in either of the present conversations. He looked miserable, looking around tiredly. But as soon as Marco stepped through the door of his room, he smiled incredibly wide and his eyes lit up. He instantly forced the grin on his face away though, instead settling for a little smirk. Marco hopped onto the couch and the two started talking. Great. Now Eren was the odd one out.

''Where's Erwin?'' Eren asked. And no one answered, carrying on with their conversations. This frustrated Eren, he hated being ignored. ''Hello? Anybody there?'' Eren joked, trying to gain someone's attention. Reiner looked at him and shrugged, giving no proper answer as he turned back to face Ymir. Finally, Marco answered, ''He's just in his room talking to Levi and Hange. Why?''

Eren replied, ''He's just usually in here...''

Nothing to do, as usual. Days all blended together because of the lack of entertainment. Their phones didn't have wifi, they didn't even have chargers for them in the first place. They had to improvise with any form of fun.

Throwing his head back, Eren let out an exasperated huff. ''Life is absolute _shit_.''

That got him some attention. Jean eye-rolled, his signature move, and pulled a smug expression. ''You're only _now_ figuring that out, Jaeger?'' Eren stuck his tongue like a toddler, ''Go fuck yourself, Kirstein.'' Jean flipped him off, Marco sighing and holding his hand, making Jean relax and coil their fingers together.

Bertholdt nodded, ''You can say that again...'' It kind of shocked Eren that Bertholdt even spoke, the tall boy was incredibly quiet. Like, he barely ever said anything when they were having a group conversation. He let Reiner do the talking. But as Reiner became more social with people other than him, he kind of couldn't always have Reiner help him talk. Eren felt kind of bad for him, actually. ''Yeah, but at least we have each other!'' Oh, sweet Krista, always trying to peel away the darkness and let light into the bad situations. Eren liked her because of how she tried to make people see the positive side to things rather than the negative. It cheered him up, definitely, but only for a short amount of time.

Perfectly timed, Hange skipped into the room, just as they did every morning. They did a good job at being comedic relief for everyone, they eased the tension when bad events took place, they set in a light-hearted tone even if they were talking about the most absurd things.

''Heyyy, everyone!'' They cheered as they hopped onto the same couch as Eren.

''Now, I have a theory. I would like everyone's attention onnn me!'' They state as they exaggerate their hand gestures. Everyone moved over to pay attention to them, granted some of them looking bored. ''So, me and the lovely Levi and the excellent Erwin were discussing something and... We think someone's out there.''

That sparked everyone's interest, and the questions started flooding in, like 'Why?', 'When did you think of this?', 'Who do you think it is?' and just straight-up 'What the fuck?'

''I thought you said that there is a literal _zero percent chance_ that anyone is out there and _now_ you suddenly think someone could be out there?'' Jean sneered.

''Absolutely right! Now we have evidence of someone existing near us! Isn't that cool? We still don't know how we'd find them, but it's still cool that we could have another comrade joining us in the future!''

''But what's the evidence?'' Reiner questioned. It was a question that obviously everyone was thinking. ''Basically, the store nearest to us was perfectly fine the other but when I snook into it earlier on when all of you were asleep, the entire store was empty and all of the carts were scattered around for whatever reason!''

''... That's your evidence?'' Eren deadpanned. Hange's face dropped a bit. ''Well, yeah. No zombie would want to pick up canned beans. Or maybe they would... I doubt it but- Oh, and there's more!'' Hange's mood picked itself up as they moved onto another piece of evidence. ''A car was missing! The big-ish red one that we- well, I stored a bunch of scrap metal in!''

''Wait, really!?'' Marco gasped, everyone else wore expressions of shock too.

''Mhm!! We think it's another person! As I said, we still don't know how we would find them, and we also don't know if they would want to join us, but still!''

Eren looked around, taking in everyone's reactions. It was a mix of shock, confusion, and joy from what he could tell.

''We're gonna talk more about finding them later, but at the moment we're trying to gather more information on where they are. Moving on from that heap of confusion, how are you, Eren?'' Hange smirked knowingly.

''I'm... Fine?'' Eren chuckled nervously, ''Why?''

''Oh? Did nothing happen between you and a certain blondie?'' They pried on. Eren blushed a bit and crossed his arms. ''Hange, stop!!'' 

''Ohh, are you not telling everyone? Yikes... Sorry, kiddo!'' Eren rolled his eyes, biting his cheek. ''Wait, you and Arlert are finally going out?'' Jean exclaimed. Eren yelled for them to shut up, but of course, the questions were persistent from Reiner, Ymir and Jean. Marco and Bertholdt slipped a few in and Krista just chuckled, obviously happy for her brother if they were indeed dating.

The loud chatter eventually dragged Connie and Sasha into the room, Annie and Mikasa soon following. 

\- - -

Armin was listening to the conversation from the room he was in, face red and hands on his chest as if that would contain his beating heart, a large smile painted across his face as he bit his lip to stop his giggles of happiness. He felt giddy like he was a kid again. Eren and his friends were his escape from the pressure of this world. He would eventually leave his warm bed to go and join the noisy discussion, but for now he was satisfied with just hearing the laughs and jokes of his true family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3!
> 
> THIS WAS NOT CHECKED, PLEASE TELL ME IF I MADE ANY MISTAKES!
> 
> Short summary: Eren and Armin talk over a 'romantic' bottle of water, and the amazing Hange thinks that maybe, just maybe, someone is out there.
> 
> Having no motivation is really the worst thing. This chapter isn't as good as the others, and sorry for this basically just being a huge dump of eremin and also for some reason I kind of switched perspectives, sorry about that. And the last thing I'm sorry for... I'm so sorry for the long wait, darlings!
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are very much appreciated but no pressure! :)) Hope you enjoyed this chapter!! <3


	4. An Unexpected Newcomer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 - An Unexpected Newcomer

''Levi.''

''What.''

''You need to calm down.''

''No.''

Erwin sat on his bed, staring at Levi who was nervously pacing back and forth. It was uncommon for Levi to stress. Well, it wasn't really. It was uncommon for him to show it. He kept everything bottled up. Everything he felt was locked away deep inside.

''Levi, sit down.''

''Why.''

Erwin sighed, standing up and holding his arms out to Levi, who just stood still and looked at him, breathing becoming progressively more shakey. It was clear to the taller man that Levi was trying to hold in his cries.

''Levi. Please. It's going to be okay.''

Levi bit his bottom lip subtly, shaking his head as he gripped his sleeves. ''Okay. But what if it doesn't, Erwin? What if it doesn't and then we all die? What happens then? We haven't got anything planned if one of us turns, we don't even have real weapons.'' He was trying to keep his voice down, fully aware of the rest of the group being only one door away. ''We're done for. Accept it.''

Erwin bowed his head a slight bit, not knowing how to help. Levi has a point, they were thoroughly unprepared for everything. Not being able to think of anything else, Erwin gripped Levis's shoulders and pulled him closer into a loose hug. It was an awkward position since Levi was so much shorter than the blonde.

Erwin wrapped his arms around Levi the best he could, the latter letting out an airy gasp.

  
\- - -

  
The conversation faded out, no one other than Sasha and Connie saying anything, just looking around and giggling from past jokes.

''So now what?'' Ymir asked rhetorically. Everyone glanced at each other, the topics they'd previously talked about seeming dry.

''Are you guys dating now?'' Marco questioned, pointing are Eren and Armin. The two blushed, Armin more than Eren, and looked away. ''It's none of your business! What about you two? Are you guys dating?'' Eren aggressively shot back, pointing at Jean and Marco.

Jean gasped, mouth gaping a bit and his face growing red. ''N-No! Me and Marco are just friends, right? It's all no homo and stuff!!''

Marco's energy dipped, not liking the answer Jean gave. He liked him, despite telling himself that he just thought Jean was a great friend and very attractive.

''Woah, Woah, there boys! Let's not do this right here, right now. Today we're going to try and relax and stuff. It doesn't matter who's dating who, what, where, why and when!'' Hange butted in.

Eren and Jean grunted, crossing their arms in sync. Armin briefly thought of how interestingly similar their personalities were in some ways. He also couldn't help but let his mind wander to places that were fantasizing about how cute Eren could be.

''Hey, wait, Hanger, are Levi and Erwin together?'' Ymir added to the few arguing voices with her own question. ''I am not allowed to answer that..! I honestly don't know, they won't tell me. Buuut they said that if anyone asks I say no! Wait... Did I... Wait, wait. Okay. So no, they're not! More importantly... Did you just call me Hanger?'' Ymir shrugged and started looking at her nails (Fun fact, she wasn't paying attention to her nails, she just wanted to seem cool for Krista).

This whole time, Dumb and Dumber (also known as Sasha and Connie) were chatting about what type of chocolate is best (the idea of this extremely important and serious discussion came from Sasha).

''Uhm, anyways, Hange. Have you told everyone else about your new idea?'' Krista pried onto the next subject and Hange grinned.

''Oh, not yet! Okay, sooo, Mikasa, Annie, Connie, Sasha and Armin, this is for you! I told the others about it earlier! Okay, so..''

Hange told the five about the ideas of another person, explaining evidence one and leaving them all looking doubtful about it.

''So... You think someone else is alive around here... Because of a messy store?'' Mikasa murmured, looking extremely unimpressed. Hange let out an 'Oohhh!' as the realization that they hadn't told them about the rest of it dawned on them.

The brunette quickly explained the rest of it and then everyone went to having their own small chats with each other.

  
\- - - 

  
Sitting on his bed, Erwin pulled Levi onto his lap. This action was far from anything sexual. It was an intimate act of love, it was saying 'I care about you' without using words. Levi returned the affection by wrapping his arms around Erwin and rubbing small circles into his back.

''Erwin... I don't want to lose anyone else.''

Erwin furrowed his brows, feeling sympathetic for Levi. He didn't want to either, but to survive they weren't allowed to hold back. It was a cruel guideline, but one they had to follow. ''Levi... Me neither.''

Erwin didn't want to. He hated seeing person after person be taken, be killed. He despised the world for bringing harm to his friends, his family, Levi. But he knew he had to.

''I miss how life used to be. It used to be shitty, sure, but it's somehow even shittier.''

Erwin's lips curve up at Levi's cussing, finding it oddly cute. "That's true. But you know what? It makes it a little less shit because we've got each other." Erwin said, massaging his hand across Levis back. Levi looked down and Erwin caught onto it.

"Levi, I promise you that we are all here for you. No matter what. Even if sometimes it doesn't seem like it, we are all here for you. You can talk to us."

And, for the first time in a long time, Erwin saw Levi smile. A real, true, pure smile that warmed his heart and soul. His mind felt more at ease with Levi looking... Safe. Okay.

The pair hugged each other closer, buzzing their heads together and listening to each other's soft breathing.

\- - -

  
"You've got to be shitting me!!" Jean cried as he got another four cards added to his stack.

Uno was one of the few games they could all agree to play, but every single time they did in fact play, mass chaos occurred.

"Sorry, not sorry, Horse-face!" Eren laughed, putting up his hand to high-five Armin who just shook his head with a smile.

Hange had gone off to do their own thing. They said they were trying out an experiment with rat poison and then they hopped off into one of their two bathrooms. It was sort of weird, sure, but everyone knew better than to question them.

"Reinerr, why do you have so many reverse cards!!" Krista whined, jokingly, poking his shoulder.

"What can I say? I'm good at the game!" Reiner answered, half-jokingly. Ymir murmured, "Having luck doesn't cf make you good at the game, dumbass..." under her breath and put her arm around Krista.

It was true that Reiner had amazing luck when it came to Uno. But Bertholdt had more. He won most of the time and that usually leads to an angry Eren and Jean at the poor boy's throat. Reiner would defend him and that would leave Marco, Armin and Mikasa to refrain the two from actually hurting him. Uno did get rather heated.

"Uh, Connie? It's your go!" Krista said, waving her hand in front of said boys face. Connie grabbed a random card he was holding and slammed it on the table.

"Go, fish!"

Everyone stared at him.

"What?" Krista gaped a bit, snorting.

"This is Uno, idiot." Jean stated and Connie made a soft 'Oohhh' sound.

"Jeez, Connie. You're really out of it today." Ymir taunted and Reiner slipped in a quick 'Ymir, he's like this every time we play. Poor guy doesn't know what's going on'.

''Well, you guys could at least be nice about it!" Connie exclaimed, shuffling the plastic cards in his hand.

After around another hour of jumping in and out of random board games, everyone was incredibly bored and tired of it. It's not that they could do anything else. The games consisted of Eren and Jean raging, Ymir and Reiner smugly showing off how good they are at them, Armin, Bertholdt and Marco quietly playing correctly and Hange diving in every once in a while to 'spice things up'.

  
\- - -

  
Stepping through the wooden door, Erwin and Levi quietly stepped into the main room, looking at everyone conversing numbly. No one batted an eye, not noticing the pair come in. 

But of course, before they could move over to their desk where they would sit and discuss plans, Hange saw them and dashed over to them.

"Hey, boys! Have fun?" They inquired loudly.

Erwin and Levi looked at them, eyes slightly red and wet from crying and Hange... Took it the wrong way.

"... It was that good?"

Erwin and Levi's faces burnt up in an instant, absolutely dumbfounded at the question.

Other peoples eyes were drawn over to the trio.

"Yo, did they finally-" Ymir started asking from across the room. ''Ymir, that's not of your business..!'' Krista shrieked while crossing her arms.

"Right, I see it was a mistake coming in here." Levi stated and started getting up to go back to his room. He was not down to tolerate this today. Not at all.

Levi started walking, Erwin following him and wanting to keep him company.

Then... Something unexpected happened.

The doorknob shook hastily.

Everyone froze, eyes darting towards the movement.

"Is there, like, someone else who we're with because.." Jean whispered.

Levi strutted over to the door, willing to take on whatever it was.

"Levi, don't. We don't know what it is." Erwin instructed but Levi didn't listen. He rarely did.

The short boy grabbed the handle, unlocked the door and started twisted. Everyone could hear each other's heartbeats, the air was thick, poisoned with tenseness. Oh how quickly the atmosphere can change from light-hearted to spine chilling.

When the door swung open, the cold air started rushing in fiercely, sweeping along with it leaves and dust. Outside of the house stood a girl, she looked injured, scared. Everyone stood up standing and waiting for the right time to move, or say something.

Looking the girl up and down, Levi rolled up his sleeves defensively. ''Name. Now.''

The woman- Or, was she a woman? She looked extremely young. The girl put her hands up, seemingly intimidated, and stuttered out her name. ''I-I'm- My name is Petra, Petra Ral..!'' Her brown eyes scattered around the room, taking a glimpse at everyone before staring back at Levi.

''Can we let her in!?'' Hange asked excitedly, but Erwin put his strong hand on their shoulder, to which they eye-rolled and huffed silently. ''No. Not yet, at least.'' Levi answered, following along the lines of what Erwin had said. Well, gestured.

''Why are you here?'' Levi asked again, interrogating Petra to see if she seemed safe. Looking around, the woman held her arm and noticing that, Levi stepped closer to get a better examination of it without touching her.

''I don't know, my friends-'' She started but she was breathless, her gasps cutting off her speech. Krista rushed forward, taking off her jacket in the process and slipping it around Petra's shoulders. She looked freezing, her shirt was torn at the upper arms and her knee-length shorts surely weren't doing a lot for her. ''Hey, it's okay! Guys, we need to let her in-'' Krista wrapped her arm around Petra's torso and began walking with her, but obviously, not everyone was convinced.

''No, we have no clue who this girl is!'' Jean protested and Levi nodded, ''That's right. We don't know her or her intentions.''

''But look at her! She needs help-'' Krista started arguing. Ymir joined in, adding that they could use a little extra help every now and then.

Levi gritted his teeth slightly, shutting the door behind Krista and the new girl. ''Fine. But if she steps out of line, she's going.''

Of course of all days something as drastic as this were to happen it's this one, the only day where Levi has felt his walls crumbling at the very second.

Krista guided the blonde to her spot on the couch and sat her down. Krista whispered questions to her and Petra would do her best to answer. Somehow, Krista couldn't feel Ymir's very clearly jealous stare, despite it nearly almost drilling a hole into her. The blue-eyed girl grabbed the others arm, inspecting the bloody and ripped bandage wrapped loosely on a large cut. ''Were you..?'' Krista didn't need to finish the sentence. ''N-No! I got this when I was running and I ran into something..''

Krista looked doubtful of that, undoing the cotton strips and grimacing when she saw the injury, the others either squinted or looked away.

''Levi, what are we going to do about her..? There's not much other room in this place.'' Erwin pulled Levi over to the other side of the room to where they usually have talks, although it wasn't too far from the main couches. Levi lightly chewed his cheek, thinking of his possible options while Hange started talking to the recent arrival.

''Well, she can rest here. We'll see if she's good enough to stay soon enough.'' Levi replied and Erwin frowned a bit, ''Are you implying that we'd kick her out?''

Levi nodded. Could they manage to do that? Would the others let them make a decision as cruel as that? It was likely that they wouldn't. Looking over to her, Erwin saw a face of pain. He had seen that plenty of times before. Her eyes reflected the deaths she'd witnessed, the horror she, like many others, had no choice but to see. He felt bad but to seem stronger than he was in reality, he had to mask this empathy with a glaze of courage, with the hope he had for the future. His hope was fading slowly, though. He would have to make do with the remains of it.

''We don't have room for more people. We don't have enough supplies. We don't have enough time for another person, Erwin.'' Levi explained. Erwin understood. He understood better than anyone, he had to make choices like this first-hand all the time.

''I understand, Levi.''

\- - -

''How long've you been 'round here?'' Jean asked, running a hand through his hair lazily. ''Uhm, about... A few days, I'm guessing.''

''How many people were you with?'' Eren then asked. ''Ah... Like, four?''

Eren, as a follow-up question, then said, ''Oh. Okay. Are they dead?''

''Eren, stop it..!'' Armin cried, feeling sympathetic and not wanting Petra to get upset.

It was about an hour after Petra had made a surprise appearance. Armin and Krista had done their best to treat her injuries and now they had her wrapped up in a blanket and they had got her some water and crackers, she had thanked them profusely.

''No, it's okay... I... I think they are.'' Petra sighed. She had wasted all of her tears when earlier Krista had brought up the same topic and the two cried it out together. The others shed a few of their own, all of them sad messes. Except for Jean and Eren who had been sat there awkwardly mostly the whole time.

''So, Petra. Are you one of the ones who stole the car? Y'know, the red one, fairly large, has a bunch of metal in the back?'' Hange brought up. They had grew attached to that car, again, no one questioned it.

''It wasn't me. My friend Oluo had. He planned on running a bunch of them over with it. I'm sorry, there was a key in it so he decided to steal it.'' Petra said, resuming the apologies.

''Petra, I'm so sorry about what happened.'' Bertholdt offered his sympathies, the first time he had really said anything since she had arrived. ''Hm? Oh, it's okay. I knew something would happen eventually. This has been the craziest week of my life. Or has it been a month...''

'Petra would be a nice addition to the group' Erwin thought, looking at the her partially bonding with the other members. Pushing the thought of having to kick her out to the back of his mind, Erwin sat down on his chair, Levi sitting on his own as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4!
> 
> Short summary: Levi worries about what the future holds and Erwin is there to comfort him. There is a bit of arguing about who's dating who, what, where, why and when and then someone strangely turns up at the door.
> 
> This update came quicker than the last. At least, I think it did? Maybe? I don't know. I have some inspiration to write which is quite the shocker if you ask me! I know what I want to write but finding the words and motivation to do it sometimes can be hard. I'm sorry once again for the wait! Online learning is draining, which I'm sure many of you are aware of. Aaand I'm sorry about the kinda angsty Eruri after a chapter as fluffy and lighthearted as the last one. Please tell me if I made any mistakes!
> 
> Anywho, thanks so much for reading, darlings! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Comments and kudos make my dare but don't feel pressured to drop either of them! :))) Have a nice day, loves!!! <33


End file.
